Piping system



April 0, 1956 J. J. PRENDERGAST PIPING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 27, 1952 Viv 3:3: 2%?

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kmkik Eak Inventor": James J. PTehdergast,

as Attorne United States Patent 9 ice PIPMG SYSTEM cames .l'. Prendergast, Erie, 1a., assignorto General Electrio Company, a corporation of New York Application December 27, 1952, Serial No. 323,196

2 Claims. (Cl. 237-67) moving parts for filling a closed tank or tanks with a' liquid.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the subsequent description of a preferred embodiment thereof, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims.

in carrying out my invention in one form, I provide-a combined water md auxiliary steam piping system-for a gas turbine-electric locomotive utilizing orifices for flow and pressure regulation. .This system provides for the heating of various materials and machines in the loco-- motive and for the cooling of other machines. Certainof the machines are heated at one time and cooled at another depending on the ambient temperature. This system also includes a novel filling arrangement for the main water storage tank in the locomotive and other auxiliary tanks. This filling arrangement, which utilizes no valves or other moving parts, provides for rapid filling of the tanks from either side of the locomotive with protection against overfilling, and includes an arrangement for siphoning the excess water out of vent lines to assure against frozen vents.

For a clear and more complete understanding of my invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which is a simplified schematic diagram of the water and steam piping system for a typical gas turbine-electric locomotive.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a piping system for a locomotive which is provided with the following equipment: a main water storage tank 1, an additional water storage tank 2 which provides coolant for various machines on the locomotive, and a toilet water tank 3. The assumed locomotive also is equipped with a steam generator 4 for providing heating steam for various uses.

As shown, the steam generator 4 supplies steam for a main fuel heater 46, a fuel filter 5, a cab heater 6, a heating coil "in in one fuel tank 7, and an additional heating coil 3a in another fuel tank '8; in addition generator 4 provides steam for heating the sump on the fuel tank as indicated schematically at it and for heating water in a surge tank 29. The drawing also includes a blowdown tank 11 for use with the fuel filter, which tank has a heating coil in the bottom thereof, and a flash tank 12; the operation of both of these devices is discussed in detail hereinafter. The illustrated piping system provides interconnecting piping, valves, orifices, and the like for the items mentioned above, and the various portions of the system are discussed in detail subsequently.

2,741,434 Patented Apr. 10, 19 56 Reference is made first to the main water storage tank 1, and the portion of the system which provides for filling this tank along with coolant tank 2 and toilet water tank 3. The main tank 1, which is of the closed type, has connected thereto a pair of fill lines 13 and 14. These two lines preferably are arranged so that one is available from one side of the locomotive and the other from the opposite side of the locomotive, so that the locomotive Water tanks may be filled from either side of the locomotive with equal facility. Both of the fill pipes or conduits are generally U-shaped, the pipe 13 including a first vertically disposed leg 15 having the lower end connected to the tank 1. Line 13 also includes a bight portion 16, which is located at a height greater than that of coolant tank 2 for reasons which appear hereinafter, and a second leg portion 17 which is also generally vertically disposed but may include a horizontal portion 17a and a depending portion 17b which is located near one side of the locomotive. At the bottom of portion 17b of leg 17 of this fill pipe there may be provided a conventional screw coupling 18.

Fill line 14 includes the same parts as fill line 13, i. e., a first leg 19 which is vertically disposed and has one end connected to the tank 1, a bight portion 29, a second cludes a vertically disposed vent pipe23 having its lower end connected to main tank 1 and its upper end, which is higher than bight portions 16 and 29 of the filling lines,

open to the atmosphere. A pipe 24 of relatively small dif ameter, such as /2" for example, is connected from a point on vent pipe 23 at a point higher than the toilet water tank 3 down to the upper wall of the latter tank. In addition, two other small pipes 25 and 26, also approximately /2" diameter, are connected from the upper Wall of tank 3 to fill lines 13 and 14. Pipe 25 joins fill line 13 on leg 17 thereof at the junction between portions 17a and 17!), while pipe 26 joins fill line 14 on leg 21 thereof at the junction of portions 21a and 21b of this leg. Also included in the portion of the system which provides the filling of the water tanks is a pipe or conduit 27 which connects main tank 1 with coolant tank 2. As indicated in dashed lines, coolant tank 2 has a pipe 27a projecting upwardly from the bottom surface thereof at the point where pipe 27 is connected so that after the coolant tank is filled through pipe 27 the water'does not drain back to tank 1.

In order to fill the water tanks, either coupling 18 or coupling 22 is connected to a suitable source of water under pressure. Assuming that coupling 13 is so connected and the water turned on, water then fiows upwardly through portions 17b and 17a of leg 17, then through the remainder of leg 17, bight portion in and leg 15 downwardly intotank 1. As the water continues to flow in through fill line litank 1 becomes filled, and the Water then rises through-pipe 27 and ultimately fills coolant tank 2. During the interval when tank 1 is being filled,,water flows also through line 25 into the tank 3 and ultimately fills this tank. Then, after both tanks have been filled and the Water rises further, pipes 3 and 2 and the leg 19 of fill line 14 become led. Finally, water spills over at bight portion 269 of fill line 14 and is discharged through leg 21 of this line on the other side of the locomotive. This is an indication to the operator that all tanks are filled and that he should immediately turn off the supply of water. v v When the water supply is'turned oil, a siphoning action' hot weather operation.

begins. 'Water continues to run from fill line 14 on the opposite side of the locomotive and in so doing it lowers the water level in vent pipe 23 and in leg 15 of fill line 13 until this level'reaches the level'of the upper surfaceiof tank'S. When the water reaches this level, air is drawn .in through the upper end of pipe 23, through pipe24, tank 3 andpipe 26. This air enters leg 21 of fill pipe 14 and breaks the siphon, thus stopping the flow of water from the system. Thus, it can be seen that my tank filling arrangement provides for filling from either side of the locomotive, filling rapidly because of the relatively large size pipes, filling all Water tanks with one water connection to the locomotive, signaling the operator when the tanks are full by overflow from the unused fill line, overflows when full to protect against overfilling, siphons excess water out of vent lines assuring against frozen vents, and does all of this without the use of valves or other moving parts.

As mentioned hereinbefore, a steam generator 4 is provided for supplying heating steam for various items of equipment. in the system illustrated, the steam generator receives water from the main storage tank 1 through a pipe or conduit 28, a check valve 25:2, a combined surge tank and heat exchanger 2.9, a first pump 38, a pipeor conduit 31, and a second pump 32. in the 'heat exchanger 29 the water is preheated by passing steam condensate from another portion of the system through a coil 63 inheat exchange relation with the water, While two pumps may be provided as illustrated to prevent vapor'lock in If only a single pump. 32 were used, such vapor lock might occur, but the additional booster pump fatl'prevents such an occurrence.

Thev steam generator, 4 may be of any conventional construction, but it must include a water by-pass regulator whichidischarges a small amount of water through a pipe 33 into coolant tank 2; the purpose of this is brought out in more detail subsequently. Steam at. a suitable relatively.

admits a small amount of steam to l ne 36 even when valve 35is closed. After the steam has passed through the heating coil 8:: in tank 8, it is discharged through a pipe 38 and thence passes through an orifice 39 into a header 49.

Fuel tank 7 is heated in a similar manner to fuel tank 8, i. e, by admission of steam from line 34 through a valve 41 which is bypassed by an orifice 42, the, steam from the valve 41 and orifice 42 passing through a steam line 43 into heating coil 7a in tank 7 and then being discharged through discharge line 44 and an orifice 45 into line 40. The main fuel heater 46 has a similar arrangement including a valve :7 and an orifice 4-8 for admitting steam from the main steam line 34 to the heater. The main fuel heater has two discharge lines 48 and 49, the former including an orifice 5th and the latter an orifice 51, and both discharge lines connecting to the header 49. 7

Steam is supplied also from line 34 to the fuel filter 5. This filter may be of any desired construction, but I prefer to use the construction described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 130,245 for a Fluid Filter'Unit, fled November 30, 1949, and assigned to the assignee of the present application. Such a' filter reing coil 68 and the heating coil in the fuel sump passes into a line 61 and then through an orifice s2 into header 40.

Line 34 supplies steam also through a shutoff valve 55 to the cab heater 6; after the steam has passed through the cab heater it is discharged through another shutofi valve 56 into a pipe or conduit :37. The cab heater is bypassed through an orifice 53 which admits continuously a small amount of steam into line 57 even if the cab heater is shut off. From line 57 steam passes through a coil (not shown) in the bottom of the blowdown tank and thence through an orifice 580 into header 4a. The heating coil in the bottom of blowdown tank ll is to keep this tank warm to facilitate the separation of water from the remainder of the residue in this tank.

From header 4% the condensate from all of the various steam consuming items passes upwardly through a vertically disposed pipe 63 into the top of flash tank 12. Here steam or-any other vapor which may be entrained in the condensate escapes through a suitable opening 64 in the top of the flash tank, while the balance of the'condensate passes through the flash tank and downwardly through.

a'pipe 65 into coolant tank 2.

In a typical system in which this invention is embodied, the steam generator 4 supplies steam at a normal pressure of 200 lbs. per square inch, although at times the pressure may go as low as 150 lbs. per square inch. 7 in this system, each'of orifices 37, 42, 43 and 53 is .030" in 7 diameter, while the orifices 39, 45, 5%,51, 56a and 62, on the discharge side 'of the various steam utilizing devices, are all :070 in diameter.. in the same system 1 /2" pipe was usedfor line 34, "As/Ppipe for lines 3-5 and 43, pipe for the line from line 3 to the main fuel-heater lfi and from line r34 to 'the cab'h'eater s, pipe for lines 57 and 52, /11" pipe for line 53, A,

pipe for'line 61, and l" pipe for lines ll} and;63 lwith this arrangement, a proper balance of pressure and flows of steam and condensate are maintained in the system without the use of traps another similar items in the discharge lines from the various steam consuming devices. During normal operation of the typical system described .in the preceding paragraph, condensate is present on the incoming or high pressure side of the orifices 39, 45, 5t 51, 58a, and 62. Under some abnormal conditions of operation, this condensate may be entirely dissipated through the orifice, so that steam then flows through the orifice. With my system, however, such an occurrence is not of serious consequence, because only approximately as much steam as condensate can pass through the orifice (this being approximately the ratio or" the weights of the steam and the condensate per unit volume), and my system can readily accommodate such avrelatively small amount of steam through any one or more of the discharge orifices. a

The water in coolant tank 2 may be used for purposes such as cooling an auxiliary diesel engine. It is desirable to keep such an engine warm at all times and ready for immediate operation, and the use of warm condensate in the manner provided by this system provides for maintaining the coolant in tank 2 relatively. warm regardless of the season. Then if this coolant is circulated continuously through the diesel engine, the latter is kept quires a blowdown tank such as ll on the accompanying drawing, and a pipe of relatively large diameter such as 52 connecting the filter and the blowdown tank to conduct residueand steam from the filter to the blowdown tank. Steam at reduced pressureis discharged from filter 5 through the relatively small steam line 53 which conducts V suchsteam to the heating coil 6% in heat exchanger 29 and 'to the heating coil (not shown) in the fuel sump 10 through a shutoif valve 54. The discharge from the heatwarm and. ready for operation.

It will be readily understood that it is when the outside temperature is the coldest. This is the time also, however, when the various other equipments in the locomotive, such as-the main fuel heater, the

V particularly important to keep the diesel engine warmin the wintertherein by means of a line 33 which supplies continuously at small amount of Water for this purpose. Any excess of water in tank 2 drains through overflow pipe 27a back to the main Water tank.

While I have illustrated and described one preferred embodiment of my invention, modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, and, therefore, it should be understood that I intend to cover by the appended claims all such modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An auxiliary steam system for a locomotive comprising, a steam generator, a plurality of steam consuming devices, a first plurality of conduits connecting the said steam generator and the said devices respectively for conducting steam from the generator to the devices, a plurality of shutoff valves located respectively in the said first plurality of conduits, a second plurality of conduits connected respectively to the said devices for receiving steam or condensate discharged from the devices, a plurality of orifices of substantially uniform size located respectively in the said second plurality of conduits, said orifices being of such small size that during normal operation condensate is present on the incoming side of the orifices and passes through the orifices, a plurality of by-pass conduits around the said plurality of shutofi valves respectively and a second plurality of orifices of substantially uniform size located respectively in the said by-pass connections, the said second plurality of orifices being of smaller size than the first mentioned orifices.

2. A steam system comprising a main Water storage tank, a steam generator, a first conduit for conducting water from said tank to said generator, a first pump connected in said first conduit for pumping Water through said conduit, a second pump connected in series with said first pump and cooperating therewith to pump Water through said first conduit whereby vapor in said conduit will not prevent the pumping action of said pumps, a steam consuming device, a second conduit for conducting steam from said generator to said device, a shutoff valve said conduit, 21 by-pass conduit around said valve, a first orifice located in said by-pass conduit for allowing condensate to drain from said valve when said valve is closed, a third conduit connected to said device for receiving steam or condensate discharge from said device, a second orifice in said third conduit of such a small size that when said valve allows steam to pass into said device, condensate is present in the incoming side of said second orifice and passes through said second orifice, and a fourth conduit connected to said third conduit for returning said condensate to said main Water storage tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Schaub Dec. 5, 1950 

